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Gluten Free Alchemist

Positively Coeliac - Adventurously Gluten Free

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Home » Christmas » A Coeliac Christmas… How to Live and Love the Festive Season

Christmas Coeliac Children Coeliac Life

A Coeliac Christmas… How to Live and Love the Festive Season

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Facing a Coeliac Christmas? With kids? We share our experience and offer some tips for getting you through the festive season. (With Coeliac UK’s Tales from a Gluten Free Christmas Campaign #gfchristmas)

coeliac-christmas-for-kids-pin

The challenges of a Coeliac Christmas

Whether you are an adult Coeliac or the parent of a diagnosed child, the Coeliac Christmas presents its own unique challenges. Not only is it one of the biggest events in the annual foodie calendar, but it is filled with parties, gatherings and events that often centre around elaborate dinner and buffet tables, stacked high with tempting treats… most of them filled with the gluten we have to avoid. For Coeliac sufferers, Christmas can feel excluding and sometimes down-right scary. And if it’s your child who is Coeliac, the worry increases massively…

But it doesn’t have to be all bad. As a Coeliac family, we love Christmas. We loved it before diagnosis and we still love it now. With some extra planning, being armed with knowledge about how to stay gluten safe and being ready and prepared for a few (sometimes) awkward conversations to help family and friends ‘get it’, we have learned to navigate smoothly through the annual food fest. It may feel scary, but being Coeliac at Christmas doesn’t have to be a barrier to having a great time.

This year, Coeliac UK are supporting the gluten free Community by sharing real life Christmas experiences. And in this post, I am pleased to share our experience of getting through a children’s Coeliac Christmas, as part of Coeliac UK’s ‘Tales from a Gluten Free Christmas’ campaign (#gfchristmas). Visit www.coeliac.org.uk/gf-christmas to find out more.

mum-daughter
Photo courtesy of Clare Holt

Being the parent of a Coeliac Child…

As parents of a Coeliac child, facing the first gluten free Christmas is a daunting prospect. The usually straight forward eat anything and everything party season suddenly becomes a set of red lights and question marks. It feels tough and unfair….

Our daughter was diagnosed at 6 (back in 2011)… in the November… Just before Christmas… When the class parties were planned and Christmas ‘menus’ were well underway.

Like anyone faced with a new diagnosis, we were upset and worried about what it meant and how it would change life for our daughter and our family. But Christmas was looming and it needed to feel as normal as possible. It was time to learn and learn fast…

Since then, we have made mistakes, learnt a lot and been round the ‘Coeliac Christmas block’ many times. I promise it does get easier.  

At the start, it was really helpful to know that we were not alone… With a prevalence of 1 in 100 people having Coeliac Disease, we knew there must be lots of families going through it with us. And organisations like Coeliac UK were a massive help… offering a wealth of information, support, advice and loads of resources.

It turns out there are countless Facebook support groups too… As well as blogs like this one which will offer an ear, product recommendations and recipes to make it a Christmas as good as any other.

coeliac-christmas-tree-cake

Helping make it a great gluten free Christmas – Survival tips for the Coeliac Parent

The Coeliac Christmas is all about food… Food that is safe and doesn’t leave anyone feeling excluded… whether at home, school, or with family and friends. So, what are our top survival tips to make a gluten free Christmas great?

Positivity is a good thing…

Being positive is a good thing. Children look to us for clues and cues about how they should be feeling and whether they should be worried. For us, being as upbeat as possible about what was safe to eat (rather than dwelling on the food that was no longer on the menu), made a huge difference for our child. Without a doubt, it was at odds with how we were feeling on the inside, but looking back now, being ‘positive parents’ really helped our daughter feel better about her diagnosis and about getting happily through that first Coeliac Christmas.

After all… the Coeliac diagnosis was a good thing. It meant that with a gluten free diet she’d feel better and get well. And that was an amazing Christmas present.

christmas-market-stars
Photo Courtesy of Barn Images

The usual gluten rules apply…

As always, the basic gluten free food rules apply… Christmas doesn’t mean risking anything that might be unsafe either for convenience or because it feels unfair… ‘Just a little’ gluten is a dangerous thing. Never think you have to accept a glutenous offering just because you are worried about hurting someone else’s feelings.  With so much freely placed ‘social’ Christmas food available however, extra vigilance may make the difference between a great Christmas and a sick Christmas.

What are the basic rules?

  • People with Coeliac must never eat anything that contains gluten. Head over to Coeliac UK for their Gluten Free Diet information)
  • Read LABELS like a hawk to check the ingredients… Not just the basic ingredients, but checking for any ‘may contain’ warnings as well. And don’t feel embarrassed about asking to read labels for anything friends and family offer too… This is a health need, not a ‘fad’… Coeliac UK offers current information on Labelling Laws, safe product lists and also has an award-winning Food Checker App for scanning product labels.
  • Stay vigilant to cross-contamination risk both at home (particularly if others prepare and eat gluten in the house) and at social events. Coeliac UK offers advice and support… Here’s their Cross-Contamination advice.
  • If unsure about how or where something has been prepared and whether it is safe to eat… ask as many questions as you need to be certain that the food contains no gluten and has no risk of cross-contamination. If still in doubt, don’t risk eating it.
german-gingerbread-cookies-lebkuchen-stars

Children and the Coeliac Christmas – special considerations

My daughter has grown through many Christmasses with Coeliac and at 15, I now trust her implicitly to manage her food safety. But, depending on the age and needs of your child and how recently they have been diagnosed, you may need to offer lots of extra support. Some children will learn the food-safety ropes very quickly and others will need more supervision… Either way, keeping them coeliac-safe is essential.

  • For very young children… help them learn about gluten-safety while supervising and watching very closely to keep them safe.
  • Slightly older children may start to resent interference from parents… Teach them well and then offer them some responsibility while keeping a very close eye.
  • Teenagers can be an interesting bunch… You’ll know your child! If they understand well and have more Coeliac experience, they may naturally take full ownership of their own food safety (unless there is a reason why they shouldn’t or can’t). But an agreed strategy for extra reassurance and checks can be helpful oversight.

As always, Coeliac UK are on hand with guidance for Kids, Teens and Young Adults.

And if you are new to parenting a Coeliac Child, we also have a Practical Guide to support you.

tree-decorations

School Christmas parties and the school Christmas dinner

The school Christmas (particularly at Primary school), was always going to be tough. Christmas parties with kids can be chaotic events with no control over what food is sent in by parents and random sweets and treats being offered as party game prizes. And then there’s the school Christmas dinner… fraught with risks from gluten ingredients and cross-contamination.  

I suspect that for 2020 with the restrictions we face, school Christmas parties may well be constrained. But when we went through it, we sent in a separate labelled gluten free ‘party pack’ (with clear staff instructions attached). There was simply too much risk from crumbs, spillages and gluten-contaminated fingers…

The school were fantastically helpful though… Once we had talked through arrangements with the class teacher, we were reassured that someone would take responsibility for overseeing the eating frenzy and ensuring that the prizes for our little one were safe.

And school Christmas dinner? We thank our lucky stars for the amazing kitchen staff… After talking to them directly about our daughter’s needs, they went out of their way to prepare her dinner safely and with separate gluten free gravy too… They even made a special gluten free cake! Her school Christmas was exactly as it should be.

church-in-the-snow

Managing a Coeliac Christmas when visiting family and friends

One of the possible ‘flash points’ at Christmas can be family and friends who don’t ‘get it’. So, it’s definitely worth talking to anyone you are visiting ahead of time to explain health needs and to ask about any food that is being prepared. Our family and friends were amazing at supporting us, but having the conversation before we got there meant that we could enjoy ourselves that bit more.

Either way… we always had a ready alternative and snacks in the bag to keep hunger at bay if we got caught short.

gluten-free-gingerbread-house

Last but not least… Cooking with the kids

Of course, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a bit of family fun, cooking Christmassy stuff with the kids. Whether it’s a fabulously extravagant Gingerbread House or Gingerbread shapes, decorating the Christmas Cake, making Marshmallow Snowmen, baking German Lebkuchen, a huge Christmas Tree Cake or some Custard Creams for Grandma. There’s lots of recipes both at Gluten Free Alchemist and across the web to help you share the magic of Christmas baking and Gluten Free Cooking.

child-decorated-christmas-cake

Some of my favourite fellow bloggers also offer plenty of ideas too…

  • Glutarama – Gluten free, dairy free, vegan
  • Intolerant Gourmand – extensive allergies and intolerances
  • Le Coin De Mel – some gluten free
  • Free From Fairy
  • Peachicks Bakery – mostly vegan with some gluten free
  • Gluten Free Blogger

However you spend your Coeliac Christmas, be sure to stay safe xx

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This page may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and go on to buy the product recommended, I will get a very small commission. You will not however be charged any more than if you went direct to the site. 

I will only ever recommend products that I actually have in my kitchen or would buy myself. 

Please note that where a recipe contains alcohol, it is NOT suitable for children. Always drink and use alcohol responsibly. For more information, see the Drink Aware website.

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Comments

  1. Rebecca - Glutarama says

    18/11/2020 at 8:29 pm

    Such an amazing resource Kate, lovely to see your face too 😉

    Reply
    • GlutenFreeAlchemist says

      19/11/2020 at 1:44 pm

      Thank you Rebecca. Yes… It’s a rare (if oldish) photograph x

      Reply

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About Me

Welcome to Gluten Free Alchemist.
I’m Kate – gluten free recipe developer, traveller, photographer, blogger and mum to a Coeliac teenager… living Coeliac life without limits.
Join our family journey as I share recipe and travel adventures and as we support each other in overcoming life’s Coeliac hurdles. Read More…

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Perfect Panna Cotta. Sweet with Vanilla. With the Perfect Panna Cotta. Sweet with Vanilla. With the desired ‘wobble’ and drizzled with beautiful, tangy Berry Coulis. 🍓
Being a Coeliac household, it’s a favourite dessert. It’s also one of the rare desserts that isn’t a gluten free brownie when you eat out... I miss eating out!
How’s everyone else doing? What are you most missing with lockdown?
It’s so long since restaurants were allowed to open here. We didn’t really come out of lockdown after the summer... I really feel for the local businesses ☹️
But in the absence of dinner out... We just have to make our own Panna Cotta. 
Creamy, meaty, super smooth... 
Who’s with me?
The recipe is on the blog... follow the link from my profile (lnk.bio).
#pannacotta #vanillapannacotta #berrycoulis #dessert #milkjelly #dessertporn #dessertshots #glutenfreedessert #glutenfree #glutenfreeuk #coeliacsafe #britainsbesthomecooks_ #tastemademedoit #glutenfreealchemist #cookblogshare #singluten #senzaglutine #glutenfritt #glutenfrei #feedfeedglutenfree #thefeedfeed #foodblogger #foodblogfeed #foodstagram #ukfoodies #beautifulfood #droolclub #huffposttaste 
@foodblogfeed @thefeedfeed @thefeedfeed.glutenfree @huffposttaste @britainsbesthomecooks_
A brief lesson in Courtesy and Integrity... These A brief lesson in Courtesy and Integrity... These are my gluten free Bourbon Biscuits. Optional Dairy Free and Vegan.
I worked hard to get the recipe right. It took many goes and many tweaks to achieve the texture and flavour that is so Bourbon-iconic.
That’s a lot of ingredients. A lot of ‘getting it wrong’… until I was ‘getting it right’. 
It takes a lot of effort and determination to create recipes that work and work well… And that are at least as good as their glutenous counterparts.
Imagine my utter FRUSTRATION when I found that someone had taken my recipe and (having changed one simple ingredient… removing the ‘pinch of salt’ from the biscuit dough), claimed it as their own… The only credit given to me was that they had been ‘inspired’ by my recipe. 
Even worse… they posted the FULL RECIPE on Instagram, Facebook and heaven only knows where else. 
They made a video for Instagram which has had over 7,000 views. They posted it on Facebook (without any mention of Gluten Free Alchemist initially)…That was another reach of thousands. 
I have received NOTHING from their extreme ‘generosity’ in sharing my recipe. Not even a direct link to my website, from which I am trying to make a living following redundancy.
I’m not going to name and shame (although frankly as a commercial organisation they should have known better)… But INTEGRITY is important.
If you take a recipe from someone else… Give them FULL CREDIT. If you tweak a recipe with small alterations… Still give them FULL CREDIT. Be sure to direct people to the original website post where the recipe can be found in full. 
As a recipe developer, you are at the whim of the integrity and honesty of others not to steal your work. People who take without asking and without any gratitude destroy trust and faith.
Thank you for reading xx
For those of you who wanted the recipe… You’ll find a printable recipe card at Gluten Free Alchemist xx
PINCH OF SALT IS OPTIONAL
We’ve had bunnies... we’ve had Santa’s and C We’ve had bunnies... we’ve had Santa’s and Christmas characters..... now we have (drum roll.....) KIT KAT Mini Eggs. And guess what? They are GLUTEN FREE 😁😁😁😁
How exciting is that?????
I know it’s a bit early for Easter, but let’s face it... nothing is normal this year!!
Who’s rushing out to find some? 
Swipe for pack and ingredients ➡️➡️➡️➡️
#kitkatminieggs #kitkatglutenfree #glutenfreeminieggs #glutenfreetreats #glutenfreeeaster #glutenfreealchemist #minieggs #glutenfreefinds #glutenfreeuk #glutenfreechocolate #glutenfreeeastereggs #foodblogger #freefromgang #tinyeggs #coeliacfriendly
I promised the recipe for my gluten free VIENNESE I promised the recipe for my gluten free VIENNESE FINGERS ages ago. But it slipped my mind and I forgot to post them. I’m SO sorry. 🙈🙈
Oh well... better later than never I guess. And hopefully this one was worth waiting for. 
Although they can be a little tricky to make, Viennese Fingers are super-light and totally melt-in-the-mouth delicious. 😍
Add a chocolate-dipped end and they are even more heavenly 💜
Who wants to try them? 
I’ve linked the recipe on my profile... click lnk.bio to grab it...
➡️➡️➡️
#glutenfreealchemist #viennesebiscuits #viennesefingers #glutenfree #glutenfreebiscuits #glutenfreerecipes #glutenfreeuk #feedfeedglutenfree #feedfeed #foodblogger #glutenfreerecipedeveloper #foodie #biscuitporn #thebakefeed #huffposttaste #britainsbesthomecooks_ #foodblogfeed #glutenfrei #singluten #senzaglutine #glutenfri #cookblogshare #coeliacsafe #glutenfreetreats #optionaldairyfree #optionalvegan #forkyeah #bakinglove #bakingfromscratch 
@foodblogfeed @thefeedfeed @thefeedfeed.glutenfree @huffposttaste @britainsbesthomecooks_ @thebakefeed
Have you ever had Angel Food Cake (not to be confu Have you ever had Angel Food Cake (not to be confused with Angel Cake)... ?
Pure white sponge... slightly sticky and perfectly mallowy... Entirely fatless and made with whipped egg whites. This meringue-based cake takes me straight back to childhood. 😁
I took a recipe from my mother’s 70s Good Housekeeping Cook Book and removed the gluten so I can still enjoy.... xx
If you want the recipe, you’ll find it on the blog ➡️
#glutenfreealchemist #angelfoodcake #glutenfreeangelfoodcake #glutenfree #glutenfreeuk #foodie #singluten #senzaglutine #glutenfrei #glutenfri #coeliacsafe #feedfeed #feedfeedglutenfree #thebakefeed #britainsbesthomecooks_ #cookblogshare #bakefromscratch #whitecake #eggwhites #fatlesscake #foodblogger #glutenfreecake #coeliaceats #glutenfreedairyfree #cakesofinstagram #foodblogfeed 
@foodblogfeed @thefeedfeed @thefeedfeed.glutenfree @britainsbesthomecooks_ @thebakefeed
No bells. No whistles. Just perfect #glutenfree pa No bells. No whistles. Just perfect #glutenfree pancake development.
Looking good? The next batch will be ‘dressed’... but there a something quite pleasing about a naked pancake stack... right? 
I’m nearly there... One more batch and I’ll be happy 😄 
#glutenfreealchemist #glutenfreepancakes #pancakestack #simplepancakes #easypancakes #singluten #senzaglutine #glutenfritt #glutenfrei #coeliacfriendly #recipedevelopment #promixx #glutenfreerecipecreator #cookblogshare #feedfeedglutenfree #forkyeah #glutenfreeuk #pancakesofinstagram #foodblogger #brunch #glutenfreeeats #pancakesofinstagram #healthypancakes #proteinpancakes #foodblogfeed #britainsbesthomecooks_ 
@thefeedfeed.glutenfree @foodblogfeed @promixx @britainsbesthomecooks_
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